Before 1900 the largest religious groups in California were the Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Congregational churches. The Family History Library has several histories of the Catholic, Presbyterian, Latter-day Saint, and Methodist churches in California.

Roman Catholic

The first Catholic missions were organized in 1769. Most of the mission records begin in 1770 and are on film. The Family History Library and the Bancroft Library have extensive collections of the early records. For the index to these records, see Thomas W. Temple III, An Alphabetical Listing of the California Mission Vital Records (Salt Lake City: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1985; FHL film 1307621 item 4; fiche 6047009).

The following sources may help you find Catholic mission records:

Weber, Francis J. A Select Guide to California Catholic History. Los Angeles: Westernlore Press, 1966. (FHL book 979.4 K21c.)

Bowman, J.N. “The Parochial Books of the California Missions, 1961,” The Quarterly (Historical Society of Southern California), vol. 43, no. 3. (FHL book 979.4 B2s.)

Barton, Noel R. “Genealogical Research in the Records of the California Missions,” Genealogical Journal, vol. 4, no. 1. (FHL book 973 D25gj.)

Many original mission records and other Catholic records have been gathered into central repositories. These include:

• Santa Barbara Catholic Mission
  Santa Barbara (Old Mission)
  Santa Barbara, CA 93105
  

A guide to this extensive collection is Maynard J. Geiger, Calendar of Documents in the Santa Barbara Mission Archives (Washington: Academy of American Franciscan History, 1947; FHL book 979.491 A5g, vol. 1).

• Diocese of Los Angeles
  3424 Wilshire Blvd.
  Los Angeles, CA 90010
  Telephone: 213-637-7000
  

• Historical Archives
  210010 Broadway
  Sacramento, CA 95818-2541
  Telephone: 916-733-0299
  Fax: 916-733-0215
  

• Diocese of San Diego
  3888 Paducah Drive
  San Diego, CA 92117
  Telephone: 619-490-8200
  Fax: 619-490-8272

Methodist

Holt-Atherton Church Archives
University of the Pacific
3601 Pacific Avenue
Stockton, CA 95211
Telephone: 209-946-2404
Fax: 209-946-2810

Presbyterian

San Francisco Theological Seminary Library
2 Kensington Road
San Anselmo, CA 94960
Telephone: 415-258-6636

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COURT RECORDS

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Major California courts that kept records of genealogical value were established as follows:

Supreme court is a statewide appellate court. The Family History Library has copies of plaintiff and defendant indexes to records of supreme court cases from 1850-1930 (FHL films 978908-9).

Court of appeal is a statewide intermediate appellate court. The Family History Library has plaintiff and defendant indexes to records of cases from 1900-1930 (FHL films 978910-11).

Superior courts have countywide jurisdiction over civil and criminal cases including probate and juvenile cases, and appeals from citywide justice and municipal courts. The superior courts replaced the district courts. The Family History Library has some superior court records, such as San Francisco County attachments for 1850 and 1869 to 1872 (at this time it was the district court; FHL films 974856-7).

Original court records are located at the various county or city courthouses. You can also find records and indexes at the California State Archives, including Index to Transcripts of Court Cases in State Archives (Sacramento: Attorney General, N.d.; FHL film 978914).

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DIRECTORIES

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Directories of heads of households were published for major cities of California. The Family History Library, for example, has:

• Los Angeles

1873-1935	FHL films 1376980—
1910, 1942, etc.	FHL books 979.493 E4LL

• San Francisco

1850-1861	FHL fiche 6044468-83
1861/62-1934	FHL films 1377422—
1910, 1936, etc.	FHL books 979.461 S1 E4p
1935, 1945-46, 1961, 1962	FHL films 1321020

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